


Sweet As Candy

by Laurasauras



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Fluff, The Homestuck Epilogues: Candy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 21:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20802920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laurasauras/pseuds/Laurasauras
Summary: Set after Roxy and John's engagement, a few moments of peace and happiness.





	Sweet As Candy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [romulusgloriosus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/romulusgloriosus/gifts).

> It's always a delight when someone who commissions me has the same taste as me and I can just go wild! Thank you, Seer!

_It’s just a date,_ Roxy tells herself. Not even a first date! Nothing to be worried about. And it’s John, basically the biggest sweetheart anyone’s ever had the pleasure of meeting! It is the first date since they’ve got engaged though. And they haven’t had many dates besides, either.

Roxy stares at her reflection nervously. Is her dress too formal? Is she falling into that habit of performing too much again? 

She puts on her best smile and snaps a picture, sending it to Rose. She captions it “sexy momma or???” and drums her fingers against her phone case as she waits for a response.

ROSE: Careful, Kanaya saw that over my shoulder and is threatening to trade me in for the next model.  
ROSE: You look lovely, Roxy.  
ROSE: If John were the kind to wear socks, you’d blow them off.  
ROXY: john doesnt wear sox??  
ROSE: Not even I can divine why, but no.  
ROXY: i rly look ok?  
ROSE: I resent the implication that a Lalonde could ever be anything less than fucking stunning.

Roxy stops fishing for compliments and turns around, twisting her head to try and inspect the goods. Rose is right, there’s basically no way that John couldn’t be all up in this business. She’s not even self conscious about her looks, she knows she’s hot stuff! She just wishes he’d hurry up and get here so she can get carried away in the indescribable high of his presence.

When he finally knocks on the door, Roxy picks up the picnic basket she made all on her own (no help from Jane or Callie or Karkat or anyone who thinks they could do this better than her) and opens the door. John is wearing a collared shirt, the doof, and a real nervous smile. Seeing him trying hard for her makes her own nerves ease, and she throws her arms around him in sheer joy that he likes her.

JOHN: hi!

John laughs, hugging her back. 

JOHN: what did i do to deserve this?

Roxy squeezes him harder, like it’s the only way to convince him she likes him too.

ROXY: ur so cute!!  
JOHN: uhh...  
JOHN: thanks?  
JOHN: you are too?

Roxy laughs and releases him. He smiles at her and holds his hand out to take the basket she kinda flung into his back there. Whoops. She hands it over and takes his other hand in hers, even though she’ll have to let go when they get to his car. 

JOHN: so where’s this super secret date location?  
ROXY: u have to promise, like, hope to die promise, that you wont tell janey

John doesn’t start the car, wisps of air pick it gently off the ground and carry it at a normal car speed. The dials on the dashboard don’t do anything while the car is turned off, but John’s good at judging it. He likes “driving” Roxy around, loves his dumb vintage car like it’s his baby, but he’s never bothered to get it working. He said one time that he would let Jade at it when he could no longer lift it and not a second before. His way is just as eco-friendly as anything she could do.

JOHN: okay...  
ROXY: iv found a place that does the best chocolate eclairs ive ever had  
ROXY: left up here

John takes his eyes completely off the road to give Roxy a skeptical look. She knows he doesn’t need to look to drive, but it still makes her nervous. It makes her nervous when he takes his hands off the steering wheel for so much as a second, even though Dave lets him drive while lying down in the backseat just to prove he can. He looks back at where he’s going and performatively turns the wheel at the intersection.

JOHN: why can’t i tell jane that?  
ROXY: shes real intense bout her baking dude  
ROXY: like fo real  
ROXY: shed make me try variations of her eclairs evry 2 hours til she got them perf an i just dont think youd like me as much if i got fat!  
JOHN: i’d still like you if you were fat!  
ROXY: ok yes that is the correct response from my loving fiance but i was in fact bein v funny

She pushes his shoulder gently and he pretends to die against his door with silly exaggeration. She nudges him again to make him open his eyes, which he rolls at her before focusing back on the road, hands perfect at ten and two.

ROXY: straight here  
JOHN: why’d you bring a picnic basket then?  
ROXY: becooooooos im a freakin genius!  
ROXY: ill run in and grab us a couple eclairs then we can scoot to a quiet spot in the park an i wont have to feel like a total slob when i inevitably get cream all over my face cos its just u!

==>

The crazy thing about Earth C is how idyllic it all is. Once they’ve done their errand and John’s driven them to the park, it’s almost ridiculously easy to find a spot near a small lake with no people around. Roxy's not quite used to it yet, and John definitely isn’t. 

JOHN: is it maybe… too quiet?  
ROXY: lol guilty  
ROXY: its no big rite?  
ROXY: i just wanna be alone with u

John looks a little discomforted, but no more than he ever is when he notices one of the many incongruencies in this life. He doesn’t notice many. He doesn’t leave the house enough to notice many. Roxy smiles cheerily at him and arranges the blanket so they can look at the lake, not the clouds. 

The picnic isn’t perfect, despite the world being like this. Roxy has the concepts of movie-style dates down, and usually she is all about concepts, but the actual practice of putting together a picnic was strangely more difficult than she’d expected. 

She pulls out a chilled and fancy bottle of mineral water and some fresh fruit. She’s found that one way to deal with society’s response to just about fuckin’ everything being to drink booze is to make her fancy drinks look more appealing. Maybe the rest of this planet is leaning into the stupor, but she isn’t going back to that. So where the movies would have champagne, she only keeps the flutes. Apart from that, it was hard to figure out what to put in the basket. Candles felt silly, given her date’s tendency to blow them out, and flowers superfluous for a park. The eclairs are in a brown paper bag she didn’t get to unpack. She looks up at John as she hands him his glass and is grateful that he doesn’t seem to be judging her for a halfpacked basket. 

JOHN: what now?

Roxy doesn’t know. Around John, she feels this ridiculous freshness. He literally breathes life into their story and it’s intoxicating, but she doesn’t quite know what to do with it. She doesn’t know if she’s worth it.

ROXY: um  
ROXY: dirk said bread was bad for ducks

She pauses reflexly, like every time she brings up Dirk, like the mention of him demands a minute’s silence. 

ROXY: buuuut i have seeds, and theyre definitely okay!  
ROXY: idk i thought maybe  
ROXY: we could just talk some?  
ROXY: like dude were gettin married and i dont know if i know you all that well

John leans back on the picnic rug. He’s definitely not as broad as Jake, but he’s never expressed an interest in wrestling, or any kind of physical activity really. He looks contemplative in a way Jake would never allow himself too. John doesn’t mind if people see him thinking. 

JOHN: i don’t know if i know me that well either.

Roxy has the strange impulse to hold her breath. It feels like John admitting that should have consequences, but nothing happens. 

ROXY: when i met up with dave and rosey, we did a lightning round thingy  
JOHN: what’s that?  
ROXY: basically i ask u a bunch of personal questions and cos its a game u feel obligated to answer

John grins. Roxy feels almost giddy on his attention.

JOHN: man i used to think if dave was a girl or if rose just chilled out for a second then maybe that would be it for me.   
JOHN: you’re kind of my dream girl, you know?

Roxy might just have the self esteem required to take offense at that if it weren’t that she was probably treating John even more as a substitute for her own friends. Like, if Jane cared more, or if Jake didn’t have strings in two different colours already tying him up …

JOHN: i mean literally, too.   
JOHN: i first met you in a dream.  
JOHN: but you were still asleep, somehow?  
JOHN: kinda seems dumb that you were physically asleep in the dream bubbles but what ever.  
JOHN: it’s not like anything ever makes sense.  
ROXY: that very nearly was accidentally romantic b

John blushes and looks down. He traces the corner of the picnic rug. 

JOHN: i should probably try harder, huh.  
ROXY: it wouldnt lead u astray to mby mention how pretty i am

Roxy smiled extra wide so that John would know she was teasing.

JOHN: roxy…  
JOHN: you’re the prettiest girl i’ve ever seen in my life. 

Roxy felt her breath catch as the weight of that hit her. It wasn’t a particularly articulate or original compliment, but the sincerity was overwhelming. 

ROXY: i think ud best kiss me now john egbert

Roxy can see that John is taken a little aback, can see the nerves go right over his expression and then his forced calm. It's as if he writes every feeling in between his eyebrows, easy to read and daring you to believe that he doesn't have anything deeper. 

He doesn't have to tell her every thought though. He just has to kiss her.

John leans forward and Roxy leans back, tempting him slowly into a position over her. His eyes are the exact shade of blue as the sky. Looking up at him is like looking at the world, and when they're together, when John is actually in the room and not wishing his way forward to the next milestone, Roxy feels more alive than any other time. 

ROXY: this isnt exactly kissing  
JOHN: i was just thinking.  
ROXY: sounds dangerous

John smiles, and Roxy reaches up to touch the crinkles in the corners of his eyes. No one really does happy like John. She strokes down his cheek and he turns his head to kiss her fingertips.

JOHN: i don’t know what i did to deserve this.  
JOHN: you’re actually perfect.  
JOHN: everything about this…  
ROXY: ur allowed to be happy john  
ROXY: isnt that what u chose?  
ROXY: to be happy?

John laughs, the clouds of doubt clearing from his expression.

JOHN: yeah.  
JOHN: i can’t believe i was complaining about things being too perfect wow.  
JOHN: it’s not as if that’s how it’s been so far.   
JOHN: i’m not used to this yet. i’m really glad you’re here with me.  
ROXY: im not used to it either hon  
ROXY: just other people bein around is actually fkn wild u kno?  
ROXY: i like it tho  
ROXY: bein here in this really weird not-apocalypse with u

Finally, John leans down and kisses her. He’s not fancy with it, he just presses his slightly wind-dry lips to hers. Roxy strokes through his hair, her fingers catching rarely on knots where it’s longer. John pulls back enough to apologise, saying he keeps meaning to get a haircut, but Roxy just smiles at him and lifts her chin to kiss him again.

John slowly eases himself down so that their bodies come closer and closer together, until his chest is touching hers, but without much pressure. Roxy tugs him down properly, wants to feel the weight of him, the realness of him. She can feel that he’s learning how to kiss her as he goes in his hesitance, but he does pay attention and he’s got that frustrating natural talent to just about everything he tries. Roxy supposes she won’t hold it against him this time. 

JOHN: um…  
JOHN: are we allowed to be making out in a park?  
ROXY: lmao  
ROXY: were grown ass adults and also gods  
ROXY: who are we gonna ask for permission?  
JOHN: i don’t want to ask someone for permission! oh my god!  
JOHN: i just don’t want to get in trouble.  
ROXY: ur so fkn cute!  
ROXY: im p sure that im never gonna get caught doin anything i dont want to be getting caught at  
ROXY: ur girl is voidy af  
JOHN: oh yeah haha.

==>

Roxy sits placidly on the couch next to John and watches him squirm. This has to be the best possible outcome from asking John to marry her, even more than getting to wake up to him every single day which is obviously going to be baller as hell. 

Dave and Rose sit on the opposite couch. Dave has found a pipe, but after putting it in his mouth and discovering he didn’t care for the taste of tobacco, is now twirling it in his fingers. They both know exactly what is going on, but are refusing to pick up on John’s hints. He has to say it outright.

JOHN: so roxy and i…  
JOHN: dave could you stop spinning that fucking pipe?  
DAVE: nah  
JOHN: *sigh*.  
ROSE: Should I have cleared more than an hour for this?   
JOHN: no! i can do it!  
JOHN: (roxy, could you please do it?)  
ROXY: (i told you its tradition! its rly important to me babes pls!)

John sighs and runs his hands through his hair. Dave looks for a second like he’s going to laugh, but he gets himself under control again.

JOHN: may i please have roxy’s hand?  
ROSE: John, we’re very morbid ecto-parents, but we’re not in the habit of distributing pieces of our only beloved daughter.  
JOHN: this is so fucking weird!   
JOHN: you and dave aren’t a couple you’re brother and sister!  
JOHN: i can see kanaya hiding behind the doorway!  
KANAYA: (Fuck)

Kanaya sits next to Rose on the couch. Rose smiles at her, but takes Dave’s hand. He holds it awkwardly with only his fingers, not his palm, like someone who has been given something fragile but also vaguely repellant without being asked.

ROSE: We are responsible for this young lady’s upbringing and we take it very seriously.  
DAVE: you dont even know how many raps ive dropped on her about like  
DAVE: just the daddliest of topics  
DAVE: taught her how to ride a fuckin bike the other day  
ROXY: that actually did happen lmao  
DAVE: yeah no big but by virtue of being alive and not jake i basically have this father of the year competish in the bag  
DAVE: honey i hope youve assembled a trophy cabinet for the award  
ROSE: Of course.  
DAVE: see john i even treat my sister-wife as my equal  
DAVE: carpentry is not a gender exclusive hobby  
JOHN: WHY ARE YOU SO WEIRD???

Rose hides a smile behind the hand that isn’t still stubbornly holding Dave’s.

JOHN: roxy said i should ask you guys first before we get married.  
JOHN: which is already really dumb because she asked me, and you’re not really her parents and nobody has ever owned her because people don’t own people!  
DAVE: woah you guys are getting hitched?  
ROSE: Why did you think we were doing this?  
DAVE: i dunno you told me to come over and play your husband and it was fucked up enough that i both immediately agreed and couldnt listen to anything else you said about it  
DAVE: you know how it is  
JOHN: you knew??  
ROSE: …  
ROSE: No.  
ROXY: lmao rose ur a worse liar than dave  
ROXY: tf did my brilliant sneak genes go?  
JOHN: roxy did you set me up?  
ROXY: uh yeah  
ROXY: but keep going its rly funny  
DAVE: can i stop holding your hand now? i think youre doing it wrong somehow

It takes John a second, but eventually it all clicks. Roxy watches the gears turn in his head in a way that actually reminds her more of Jane when she’s forced to accept something new than of Jake’s sluggish understanding. What a family of sexy idiots she’s marrying in to.

JOHN: so can i have your permission to marry roxy now?  
DAVE: did you bring us any livestock  
JOHN: no!  
DAVE: wait is it him thats supposed to bring livestock or is it us  
DAVE: whats a dowry?  
DAVE: i know fuck all about this shit  
ROSE: If you haven’t brought us a cow to compensate for the loss of our daughter, then I really don’t see how we can take your intentions as pure and wholesome enough.  
KANAYA: (What Would We Do With A Cow?)  
ROSE: (He doesn’t really have to give us a cow.)  
DAVE: (its so much funnier if he actually does though)  
JOHN: i’m RIGHT HERE!  
JOHN: i can hear you whispering!  
ROSE: (We don’t want a cow. You would have to keep it at your house.)  
DAVE: (dope)  
DAVE: (i wanted it more anyway)  
KANAYA: (What Would You Do With A Cow?)  
DAVE: (i dunno)  
JOHN: i’m not giving you a cow!

Roxy starts laughing, she can’t help it. John takes her hands solemnly, as if he’s still taking it seriously. There’s something about his eyes though that clues Roxy in that he’s just going along with it to make it even funnier.

JOHN: you are worth at least an elephant.  
DAVE: dibs on the elephant!

==> 

Roxy puts down the wedding magazine she was flipping through and looks up at where John is just sitting on the couch next to her, staring vacantly into the distance. She pats him gently on the hand and he snaps out of it, smiling at her.

ROXY: bedtime?  
JOHN: yeah.

Roxy isn’t entirely sure when they moved in together, but they sure have. It’s nice, going to bed with someone. They probably don’t have to go to bed at the same time, really, but she likes it. It’s easier to go to sleep with someone else breathing in the same room, and they kind of just fit together.

He tends to lie on his back, and Roxy can just snuggle into this little spot under his arm. She can hear his heart beating, or rest on his shoulder. Sometimes he kisses her on the top of the head, or squeezes her closer. 

His skin is always cooler than she expects. Tonight he wraps both his arms around her and holds her close.

ROXY: u ok b?  
JOHN: yeah, just…  
JOHN: wanted a hug i guess.

Roxy presses her face into his neck, ignoring the slight scratch of stubble on her cheek, and sighs happily. He lets her go so that they can arrange themselves to sleep properly. Her heart feels tight, like it's somehow too full of love. 

John strokes her hair back out of her face and kisses her on the forehead. This bubble of happiness they've stumbled onto is strange, but it's theirs. And Roxy has never been so happy.


End file.
